Cortez Cross Rhodes
by TeGustaONo
Summary: Sherman and Spinner are in for a surprise when Kit comes back. They decide to help her out, and so she stays with them, however, the rest of the team doesn't know it! What happens when she gets caught - by Stanford?
1. Chapter 1

**Darn this thing took me forever to get finished! I wanted to post the first chapter of the sequel when I posted the last chapter of New Recruit! Anyway, yes, I know the name is a horrid play on words, but nothing else came to mind. So yes. I only own Kit, every other person mentioned belongs to their rightful owners. YAY! Enjoy... Hope this is OK. **

* * *

"Smarter, faster, stronger, smarter, faster, stronger, smarter, faster, stronger," Kit repeated. She was standing in front of Vert's garage, the cool night air weaving its way around her. Three months prior, she had skipped town, running away, in a sense. She no longer wanted to be under the Battle Force 5's thumb, and after what Stanford had done, in the end, she couldn't take that kind of pressure.

She hadn't planned on ever returning to Handler's Corners, not once in her life. But after receiving a call from Sage, the Sentient being, she had decided to return. Now, she was standing outside the garage, trying to work up enough courage to go in. Finally, after taking a few deep breaths, she walked into the garage. Sage greeted her and let her into the lower level, revealing a car about the size of the Reverb, sitting on a platform. "Greetings, Kit," Sage said. "I see you do not have your bike."

"Well, it kinda got trashed after you sent those weird guys to break it up and throw it into the ocean, never to be seen again," Kit muttered under her breath. The brunette rubbed the back of her neck. "So…why did you call me here? I hope it has something to do with getting a new car."

"It does. After you left, I began to realize that you also brought something to the team. You brought deep emotion to the team, offering a different look on things. The way you felt about Stanford, and the rest of your teammates, like Spinner and Sherman, showed a compassionate side, while you were also capable of showing your fierce, warrior-like side when angered. You also showed a sense of recklessness, which in a sense, can be a benefit to the team. So now I will do what I did to the other's cars. And you will be a part of this team," Sage explained. She held up an orange, triangular chip.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kit started in. "For one, I don't want one of those skin tight suits. And two, I refuse to work with the Battle Force 5." Sage sighed.

"I can understand why you hesitate, and for now, I will not alert the others of your presence. You must choose what battles to fight, and when to fight them," she replied, working on fixing up the old car with Sentient technology. Kit sighed and looked around.

"What about my suit issues?"

"Well, there is a way to avoid that, if you wish," Sage replied, still working at a steady pace. As Kit was being examined by the mechanical claws, lights, and tube-like objects, she was being given a suit, all her own. It was an orange sweater with long sleeves, and the scarlet arm band that had the comlink and the other technology. The tan cargo pants appeared, with a thick scarlet belt around her waist. The bloused boots appeared soon after. "I have made it so that the fibers are just as strong as the others' suits, but it is looser and more comfortable, and also less form fitting."

"Nice," Kit replied. She looked over to the car. It resembled the Reverb in some ways, except it had a burnt orange paint job, and gray and black stripes on the hood and sides. It now appeared to be a little larger than the Reverb, and Kit was pleased. "Thanks, Sage." The Sentient being nodded and paused for a moment. "What's wrong?" Kit asked, a little worried now.

"Someone is coming," Sage replied. "You must name your car, to seal the bond." Kit drew a blank.

"I have to what now? Umm… Uhh… This is so uncreative, but I'll call it the Clockwork," Kit responded. Sage nodded, and now the bond was sealed. But before Kit could get out of the garage, a sleepy looking Spinner came wandering in. He rubbed his olive green eyes and looked at Kit.

"Hey Kit," he said, yawning once. The brunette was frozen in place, in shock. Spinner turned around but did a double take, eyes wide. "Kit…? Is it really you?" Sage nodded, smiling slightly at the annoyed brunette. Spinner ran over and threw his arms around her, hugging her around the waist. She was now slightly taller than he was, and he stepped back. "Follow me!" Kit dug her heels into the floor as Spinner gripped her wrist tightly, tugging her up to his and Sherman's room.

The door opened to reveal a fully darkened room. The door closed behind them, and Spinner flipped on the lights. Sherman was hanging half off of one of the beds, sleeping peacefully. "Sherman!" Spinner whisper-yelled, running over to the bed. Kit couldn't get away, because apparently Spinner had gotten a little bit stronger. The short boy looked around before picking up a pillow and hitting his younger brother on the head. The much larger of the two brothers shoved his palm into Spinner's face, pushing him back.

"Lemme sleep," he grumbled, pulling the covers over his head. Spinner smacked him on the back of his head. (Well more like the back of the sheets, because they were covering his head.) He threw the covers back and stood up, looking down at his brother in annoyance. Sherman _hated _it when people woke him up when he was trying to sleep.

"Lookit, it's Kit!" Spinner said meekly, hiding behind the brunette. Sherman did a double take. He and his brother shared a long glance…

**10 minutes later… **

"Sherman and Spinner Cortez! I'm going to beat the crap out of you when I'm untied!" Kit hissed, trying to keep her voice low. She didn't want to get caught by the rest of the BF5. The two boys had tied her feet and wrists up, and they tied her arms behind her back so that she couldn't punch them. They had even had to tie her knees together so that she couldn't use those as weapons, in any way. She glared up at them with annoyed, dark blue eyes. Sherman asked Spinner for the duct tape, who forked it over.

They put duct tape over her mouth and she sat there, fuming in anger. They took her out to the Buster Tank and threw her in the back, shutting the door. She sighed and realized that she still had her "suit" on. She looked at her orange watch and saw a small green button. She narrowed her eyes and just as the Buster Tank started up, she pressed the button. The watch now read: _Clockwork en route. _She would've done a fist pump, but she was still all tied up.

Kit shifted and rubbed the ropes around her wrists up against something in the back, and slowly but surely, they began to whittle and amount to nothing. She smirked as the ropes came undone. She repeated the process with the ropes around her arms, and then she ripped her duct tape off. She untied her knees and feet, standing up. She smiled at her bloused boots, before sitting back down. Now, to wait…

Sherman rubbed the back of his neck. Spinner jumped and pointed at his scanners. "Some other car is coming!" Spinner shouted. The Buster Tank immediately came to a halt. Something blasted the back and they both traded glances. Spinner was first out of the Tank, followed closely by Sherman.

A burnt orange car was sitting there, and Kit was sitting on the hood. "Hello, boys," she said, a sadistic smile on her lips. "Payback time!" She jumped off of the hood, tripped and fell. "CRAP! Pretend I didn't trip!" she shouted, waving off her actions. She hopped into her car and slammed the door closed. "Alright baby, let's see what you can do." Kit pressed a glowing blue key, and thrusters appeared out of the sides in the back. She smirked once more, putting the thrusters back.

The Buster Tank was already on its way back to the base. She cut them off with the Clockwork. She realized she had a comlink in the car as well, so she waited to see if they'd say anything. "How'd you untie the ropes?" Spinner squeaked, while yelling at Sherman to hit the turbo boosters.

"Wasn't that hard. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You can go to the diner, and we'll talk there, or you can go back to the base, where I can decimate half of the Tank," Kit replied. The blue vehicle turned for the diner. "S'what I thought." The pulled into the parking lot as Kit followed suit. She and Spinner were first out, as usual, while Sherman just looked out over the top, taking things one step at a time. "What the heck was that back there?" she demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

"We didn't want you to leave again!" Spinner whined. "We miss you! I've been marking the days on my calendar."

"He has," Sherman put in. Kit stood there, as something came to her. Sage had called her back… Kit had left just three months earlier, and after that happened, Sage began to realize that maybe Kit was a valuable part of the team. So this had to be fate, bringing them back together. And even though Kit was still fuming over being "kidnapped" she was happy to see them. Spinner was waiting to be punched, but instead she gave Spinner a one-armed hug.

"What?" the short boy asked in confusion.

"I guess you had the right reasons in mind," Kit replied, rolling her eyes.

"So you're not mad?"

"Oh I'm angry, all right."

"But you hugged me," Spinner replied, confusion setting in again. Kit shrugged and punched him in the arm lightly. She decided to see what they had to say before walking away. She, however, refused to see the rest of the BF5. Sherman climbed out of the Buster Tank and joined his older brother. "So does that mean we can kidnap you again?"

"No. Next time, I'll beat the crap out of both of you," Kit replied. Both nodded, knowing full well that she wouldn't hesitate.

"So are you staying?" Spinner asked hopefully. "You're like my sister!" Sherman couldn't believe that Spinner had been right. He had said that Kit would come back, and now look what had happened. She was right there, in front of him. "Please? Just for even a few days?"

"You can't tell the others I'm here!" Kit said sternly. They nodded. "ONLY for a few days."

"YAY!" Spinner exclaimed, jumping around like a piece of fruit in a play. "This…is…awesome!" He stopped jumping around when Sherman didn't say anything. "Dude! Little bro, she's here! Right in front of you!" Kit snorted and walked back to her car. Spinner waved at him and followed Kit to her car. She pushed him back. "Aww…" Kit shook her head, her chocolate brown hair falling in her face. "Follow us to the base?"

"I suppose," Kit replied. "Give the Clockwork a spin." Spinner giggled like a girl and jumped in, taking off at full speed. Kit made her way into the Buster Tank, waiting for Sherman. He got in a few moments later. "Has he really been counting the days on his calendar?" Kit queried.

"Uh, yeah. His goldfish almost died because he forgot about him," Sherman replied. "Why in the world he named the fish Bigfoot, I will never know."

**

* * *

**

Holy crap this chapter took me like a week to finish! Review! Any ideas on what might happen?


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Calm-Waters, thelivingtunic, Ahsoka33, and CloudstarOfShadowClan for reviewing, faving, and alerting so far. This chapter took me a while to get finished. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use this one idea I had, but I ended up using it. Sera belongs to deegirlsjs, and I suppose Lucas isn't mine, either, being as he's based off of a real person. His turtle obsession, however, belongs to me. I own nothing besides Kit, all else belongs to their rightful owners. I do not own the song Heavy In Your Arms by Florence + The Machine. **

* * *

Next morning brought the usual routine, but with a different feeling hanging in the air. Kit had disappeared again, but she was close by, as the Clockwork was parked behind the garage. She was wandering around somewhere doing something, and Spinner had spent half of the morning trying to find her, until Sherman pointed this out. "Ohhh," Spinner replied, nodding once. "Can't we go talk to her or something?"

"She'll talk to us if she wants to," Sherman replied, fixing something on the Buster Tank. "I think she's got something on her mind, though." Spinner rolled his eyes.

"You're just peeved because you couldn't get a-" Sherman clamped a hand over his older brother's mouth as the brunette walked in. She looked at them both suspiciously, before pulling out a deck of cards, "-date!" Spinner finished. "And what's with the cards?" he added, following Kit as she sat down.

"I'll make you a deal," Kit started, shuffling the cards. "If you can beat me in a game of black jack, I'll stay. But you'd have to hide me from the others. But, if I beat you, I get to leave and I don't have to promise you anything." Spinner nodded and the two shook hands.

"Can Sherm help me?" he asked. Kit shook her head. "Crap, fine! Let's play." Kit wondered if Spinner could beat her; she had been pretty bored over the past three months, so she had perfected her black jack skills. If she won, she was leaving. Secretly she hoped that Spinner could win.

And for a good portion of the game, the boy was holding his own. But in the end things started to go downhill, so she resorted to desperate measures. When Spinner was in the bathroom she had Sherman fix things for him, gaining an odd look in the process. Spinner came back and ended up winning. "Sucker, you're stuck here! With us!" Spinner exclaimed. Kit was a little surprised that she had _wanted _to stay. Spinner ran off to go get something, so Sherman said something.

"Did you let him win?" he asked, a little amused.

"Yeah. So that I'd have a reason to stay. I had a few reasons why, but you know," Kit replied with a light shrug. Sherman nodded and leaned against the Buster Tank. He hoped that Kit would stick around for a while. The brunette paused for a moment before shifting her gaze to the Tank, and then back to Sherman. In the second that she had looked away and looked back, he had gone from looking slightly amused to thoughtful. She looked at him curiously for a moment. "What're you thinking about?" the brunette asked, nudging his foot with her foot.

He just looked at her like she should already know.

"S'not important," he finally replied, shaking his head. He folded his arms across his chest and waited.

"Just tell me," Kit prompted. She wanted to know what Sherman was thinking. It bugged her when his thoughts were just out of her grasp. If only he would talk to her a little more often. For some reason, she wondered why he hadn't stopped her from going to the first time. She wondered what would happen if she tried to walk away now. She said, "Are you mad at me?" Dark, olive green eyes shifted up to meet her dark blue ones.

"Why would I be mad?"

"I left remember? And I was mean about it, too. I'm hoping you're not mad, but I just kinda needed some time to think. And well yeah," the brunette replied. "I know Spinner could care less but you're not Spinner." Sherman thought for a moment. Was he angry? No, not really. Was he worried? Yes, most definitely.

"I'm just worried," Sherman finally replied. "For Spinner's sake," he quickly added. Blue eyes were unbelieving. They were searching for something, but what, he wasn't exactly sure of that yet. Something from the past, maybe? Or something from the future, possibly. But whatever she was looking for, she wouldn't find it here.

"I understand," she said in reply, voice quiet. There was something in the tone of her voice, and it was something he hadn't anticipated. She looked at him so curiously, that even her gaze unnerved him. The way she seemed to want to _know _what he was thinking gave him a feeling of uncertainty. And Kit did understand that she was making him nervous. She smirked lightly and turned away, pressing the button on her watch. A few moments later, the Clockwork was in the garage.

She climbed into it, lingering for a moment. She had both feet on her seat, as she stood, half in the car, half out in the open. She smiled slightly as another thoughtful look crossed Sherman's face. Thought provoking, apparently. "Now what're you thinking about?" she asked. He gave her a sideways glance. A question had come to mind and was lingering in the air.

"Did you throw the game just so that you could stay and meet back up with Stanford?"

"I came because Sage called," she said firmly, voice cold. "Stanford doesn't have anything to do with this. We knew each other for what, a month? It was just a little crush. I told Grace that's what it was. The one thing you and Spinner have got to learn if we're going to get along is that I'm not interested in a casual, summer romance. If I'm in a relationship, I want it to mean something. I don't wanna be some charm on a bracelet, always getting replaced by one prettier girl – I mean, _charm _after another."

"I think it's different with Stanford," Sherman voiced.

"Oh really?" she asked, looking at him with piercing blue eyes. A smirk threatened to cross her face.

"I'm just saying, you don't make out with someone in the middle of the parking lot and then forget about it," he replied, half expecting Kit to come over and attempt to beat him up. However, the brunette had more sense than that, because Sherman was much stronger than she was. She folded her arms across her chest defiantly.

"I'm not here for Stanford. End of story," Kit replied, dropping into the Clockwork.

"I never said you were, I just asked." With that, the brunette climbed back out and walked over to him. This act showed just how much of a height difference there was. Kit was a good three inches shorter than Stanford, so now she was at most a foot shorter than Sherman. She pulled over a step stool and stood on top of that so that she could talk to him on his level.

"You don't believe me?"

"I never said that, either."

"You meant it," Kit snorted, scoffing once. Sherman shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter." Kit jumped off of the step stool and walked back to her car, slipping in the top, closing it behind her. She put it in gear and backed out, avoiding another conversation. Just then, Spinner walked back out with a glass in his hand. It was filled to the brim with water and a goldfish was inside of it.

"Why is Bigfoot in a glass?" Sherman asked, staring at his older brother.

"I wanted to show Kit."

"She just left."

"Wha?"

"Yeah."

"What'd you do?"

"Nothing!" Sherman defended himself. "She needed a break."

"She just had one!" Spinner exclaimed, water sloshing all over the place. Bigfoot swam around, looking like he was about to have a fish heart attack. Sherman took the glass away from his older brother and shook his head, setting it down on one of the nearby desks where it would be safe.

* * *

Later that evening, Sherman and Spinner were sitting in the garage with the Buster Tank close by. They had abandoned work for the rest of the night, and Spinner was now trying to make Bigfoot jump through a hoop made of drinking straws. "Sherm, can you get me a lighter?" Spinner called back to his brother, who was sprawled out on the ground. He was beat and he had been trying to keep Bigfoot out of Spinner's hands all day. Who knew that taking care of your older brother's fish could be such a wearing task?

"Why?" Sherman asked, sitting up. The word lighter coming out of Spinner's mouth never meant anything good. "If you try to set that fish on fire I swear, I'll take him back to the pet store."

"Aww, you wouldn't!" Spinner whined. "But I need a lighter so that I can set the straws on fire! It'll be a little flaming hoop! I can start a fish circus!"

"Spinner, the straws would burn. And if Bigfoot won't jump through a regular hoop, what in the world makes you think he'll jump through a flaming hoop?" Sherman asked, incredulously.

"Oh… I knew that!" Spinner replied, waving the conversation off with his hand. He turned back to his current project. Sherman scoffed and lay back down on the floor, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. All became silent, except for the voice of his older brother. "C'mon Bigfoot, jump through the hoop, boy!" The fish was going to get angry, Sherman was sure of it. "C'mon!" But other than the sound of that, it was quiet. Sherman was on the verge of unconsciousness, so close to letting the folds of sleep overtake him, no matter even if he was on the floor of the garage.

But a slow, melancholy tune began to fill the air. "What's 'at?" Spinner asked, looking up curiously. They opened up the garage door, and found a group of ten people standing outside the garage. Each was dressed in the same thing: Long, white sleeve shirts, smoky gray, sleeveless hoodies, and dark blue jeans, with rips, tears, and holes in the knees. They were also wearing thick black sneakers. However, the most interesting part was that they all had instruments in front of them. The headlights of the Clockwork were shining on the band.

There was a female at the front, standing in front of the microphone. There were two people on guitars, five people in the back, one person at a keyboard, one person at a set of drums, and the female in the front looked awfully familiar. Each person had their hoods up, except for the boy at the keyboard. He had on a striped suit, which was purple with white stripes, and a purple and white striped fedora. He had on black sunglasses, and smart black loafers.

"Ready?" the girl at the microphone started. Everyone nodded. The tone changed into a haunting sort of tune, and she prepared to sing. Sherman and Spinner were both mesmerized so they gave each other quick glances and pulled up the step stools.

The female began to sing,  
_"__I was a heavy heart to carry,  
my beloved was weighed down,  
my arms around his neck,  
my fingers laced to crown. _

"_I was a heavy heart to carry,  
my feet dragged across ground,  
and he took me to the river,  
Where he slowly let me drown. _

"_My love has concrete feet,  
my love's an iron ball,  
Wrapped around your ankles,  
Over the waterfall. _

"_I'm so heavy, heavy,  
heavy in your arms,  
I'm so heavy, heavy,  
heavy in your arms. _

"_And is it worth the wait,  
all this killing time?  
Are you strong enough to stand,  
protecting both your heart and mine? _

"_Who is the betrayer?  
Who's the killer in the crowd?  
The one who creeps in corridors,  
and doesn't make a sound. _

"_My love has concrete feet,  
my love's an iron ball,  
Wrapped around your ankles,  
Over the waterfall. _

"_My love has concrete feet,  
my love's an iron ball,  
Wrapped around your ankles,  
Over the waterfall. _

"_I'm so heavy, heavy,  
heavy in your arms,  
I'm so heavy, heavy,  
so heavy in your arms." _

The female singer spun around once, and as she pointed to the boy at the keyboard, he gripped the tip of his fedora and tilted it backwards, revealing a little more of his face. The rest of the group followed suit, pulling their hoods down. They did it all in sync, as if it had been practiced numerous times. Suddenly they looked and realized just who the singer was. Sherman and Spinner traded glances. It was Kit. In the back the five were dancing, and one was now clearly seen as Lucas, the boy from three months before.

"_This will be my last confession,  
"I love you" never felt like any blessing.  
(Ohhhh)  
Whispering like it's a secret,  
only to condemn the one who hears it,  
with a heavy heart. _

"_Heavy, heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms.  
(I'm so) Heavy, heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms.  
(I'm so) Heavy, heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms.  
(I'm so) Heavy, heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms. _

"_I was a heavy heart to carry,  
my beloved was weighed down,  
my arms around his neck,  
my fingers laced to crown. _

"_I was a heavy heart to carry,  
but he never let me down!  
When he had me in his arms,  
my feet never touched the ground! _

"_I'm so heavy, heavy in your arms." _

The song began to slow down.

"_Heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms." _

The music came to a slow stop, and the whole group pulled their hoods back on, in sync. At last, the boy with the fedora put his hat back on and tilted his head down. The rest followed suit. For a moment, Sherman and Spinner sat in stunned silence, as Bigfoot swam around in his little glass. All was silent, and no one moved. The headlights of the Clockwork dimmed and then went out completely. Suddenly, Spinner jumped up and yelled, "That was awesome!" The band breathed a sigh of relief as the guitarists high-fived each other.

Kit pulled down the hood and blushed slightly, looking proud. "It took me a long time to learn the lyrics to that song. In fact I had to take voice lessons to be able to sing this way, too. You were the first people to hear me sing it, besides the band, of course," Kit explained. Sherman stood up.

"You happened to have your band with you?" he asked, a little amused.

"I always bring them with me," Kit responded. "We pretend we're brothers and sisters."

"Makes sense," Sherman replied, after a moment of silence. "Now if you could just teach Spinner to sing like that…" Everyone laughed, even Spinner… That is, until he realized what his younger brother had just had the audacity to say, out loud.

"Hey!" Spinner exclaimed. He started to attempt to sing, but a drumstick flew from the back and hit him square in the forehead. He fell over and curled up in a ball on the ground. Sherman and Kit looked to the source of the drumstick, as a young girl stood up and folded her arms across her chest.

"Drumstick, please?" the blonde asked, ice blue eyes sparkling slightly, in amusement.

"Oh, Sherman," Kit started in. "This is Sera."

"Hey, Sherman. Kit talks about you _all _the time!" Sera replied, smirking lightly. The rest of Kit's band mates sniggered. Kit blushed furiously as she walked over to Sera and smacked her on the back of her head. "Ow! I'm just tellin' him the truth! It's either him, or his twirpy little – I mean older brother. Are you sure you're not older?" Sera asked Sherman.

"I'm sure."

"Wow!" Sera replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "Mmkay Kit, how long will we be staying here?" The rest of the band murmured their agreement, while Lucas yelled out the fact that he liked turtles. "Say, why don't we stick around?" Kit rolled her eyes and eyed Sherman, and then the passed out Spinner.

"Alright, alright, I did lose that game of black jack," Kit responded.

"Do you have any turtles?" Lucas asked quickly. Sherman pointed to him.

"He's joking around, Sherm. He does like turtles, though. Lucas, cut it out, man," Kit called back to him.

"You betcha, Katczinsky," Lucas replied. "I do, however, like turtles."

"Would you call me Kit? It'll confuse everyone!" Kit demanded.

"Nah, I don't think I will!" Lucas replied. Sera aimed the drumstick and chucked it at her friend, and Lucas was soon lying on the ground, much like Spinner. "I like turtles…" he said in his sleep. Kit nudged him with her foot. She looked up at Sherman hopefully. The taller boy sighed and hoisted his brother over his shoulder, along with Lucas.

"I have deadly aim!" Sera declared, doing a fist pump. Kit rolled her eyes again and followed Sherman back into the garage.

**

* * *

**

French toast sticks, that chapter took me a couple hours to finish. I hope it was OK. Please review, and tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, alerted, and faved to this fic so far! I own nothing except for Kit, all else belongs to their rightful owners. Enjoy! **

* * *

"Storm shock approaching!" Sage's voice filled the air of the base. Sherman clambered out of his bed, walking over to Spinner's. The older boy was tangled up in the sheets, underneath a variety of pillows, all of which were scattered across the bed. The issue was how to go about waking the boy up. Vert would chew them both out if they weren't out there on time… Sherman picked up the glass that still contained Bigfoot from the previous day. He wondered where Kit was, but oh well.

As the younger Cortez started to leave the room, Spinner shot out of bed and kicked him in the shin. "I'll take that, thank you," he said, pulling the glass from his brother's hands. "Was Sherman trying to kidnap you and take you to the pet store?" Spinner asked, his voice taking on a childish tone, like he was talking to a baby. Bigfoot looked like he was going to have another fish heart attack. The boy set the glass down on the bedside table and jumped up on the bed so that he would be on his brother's level.

"Spinner, you didn't have to kick me," Sherman pointed out, walking back over to the bed.

"You stole my baby fish!" Spinner shouted, but the younger found it hard to take his brother seriously when his hair was a spiky mess. Sage's voice filled the air again and Spinner looked around. "Let's go!" He jumped down and the two suited up, heading out to meet the rest of the group. It was still dark out – it was only five in the morning. But apparently storm shocks can come at any time. Spinner jumped in the Buster Tank and waited for Sherman. When everyone was ready to go, they took off for the storm shock.

Today's battle zone was basically a huge rain forest. There were stone pyramids scattered here and there, but they didn't quite have a lock on the battle key yet. "Alright everybody," Vert started in, "keep your eyes open for Vandals. Agura and Zoom – go look for the key in the forest area. Sherman and Spinner will check out the pyramids, while Stanford and I check the cliffs around here." Everyone nodded and split up. The Buster Tank was so hulking big that it ran most of the bushes over, and knocked the trees over, causing a lot of racket.

"Keep it quiet, would you?" Stanford snorted over the comlink. "You'll alert the Vandals that-" Before Stanford could finish his next sentence, Spinner screamed shrilly. Sherman looked at the scanners and realized that the Vandals were coming their way. "See, now look what you've done, you boneheads." Sherman was getting annoyed with Stanford, and in fact things had almost come to blows a few weeks back. But this, this was over the top. However, nothing could be done about the red head, because Sever and Krocomodo burst from the foliage.

Spinner fired one of the chain-maces, but Sever dodged out of the way. The group of three charged through the forest, each avoiding each other's weaponry. They blew through the trees and bushes and came upon a clearing encircled by trees, with numerous, huge pyramids scattered throughout the clearing. Each pyramid was gray and stony. Krocomodo snorted and sped up, driving across the side of the nearest pyramid. "This is where the key is supposed to be!" Sever snarled, snapping his jaws as a chain-mace shot out at him. He avoided it, but just barely.

Sherman glanced at his scanners but did a double take when he spotted another red dot coming their way. "We've got another Vandal coming our way," Sherman told Spinner, who nodded and prepared the chain-mace again. However, a sleek, burnt orange car flew out of the foliage, skidding to a stop. The engine revved as Krocomodo came to a stop. He fired an arrow at the orange vehicle, but the car burned rubber and got out of the way. He growled and fired the grappling cables, but again, those were avoided.

The car melted out of view, obvious having a cloaking device built in. "Sever! It _must _have an organic in it, so sniff the little filthy vermin out!" Krocomodo shouted, jaws snapping. The shark Vandal sniffed the air as everything was still. As this was happening, Sherman and Spinner were trying to get a visual of the key. Finally Sherman got it, but it was on the side where the two Vandals and the mysterious orange car were. Sever caught wind of the car and the organic inside, as it reappeared.

Right as he rushed forward, the headlights came on, a bright red light flooding the dark clearing. Sever's car immediately stopped working, and he tumbled into the surrounding trees. Krocomodo had a visual on the key, but his car suffered the same fate as Sever's – and he, too, went tumbling into the surrounding trees. The orange car burst forward and snagged the key, immediately going invisible. The key disappeared as well. "After that car!" Spinner declared, as the sleek orange vehicle burst into the surrounding forest.

The two Cortez boys chased the car, all the way up into the mountainous region of the battle zone. Finally, they reached a cliff and the orange car came to a stop. The Buster Tank stopped as well. The top of the car opened up and a brunette popped out. She smirked as she took off her sunglasses. Even in the darkness, Spinner and Sherman could see who it was. "Kit!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

"Yup! My pretty little car was equipped with a cloaking device, courtesy of the magnificent Sage," Kit explained, patting the windshield. "So I followed you into the storm shock, got a lock on the key, found it, and apparently I found you two trying to fight off those nasty little Vandals. I'm going to give you the key."

"How'd you fight the Vandals off? They're cars crashed into the forest, you didn't attack them!" Spinner exclaimed, opening the top of the Buster Tank. He clambered out and looked at Kit, through the darkness. Sherman pushed him aside and joined his brother.

"The red headlights did the trick. Since my car is called the Clockwork, it has the ability to freeze technology. And since cars count as technology, those Vandal vehicles were shut down," Kit explained. "Sage is a genius!" The brunette smirked and jumped out of the car, falling on her butt – again. "Can one of you teach me how to jump?" she asked, shaking her head as she got up. She held out her hand and the key came to her, so she walked over to the Buster Tank. Within a few feet, the key left her hand and attached itself to the Tank's front.

"What do we tell the others?" Spinner questioned. They had turned their comlink off before opening up the top.

"Tell 'em you wrestled down those Vandals with chain-maces," Kit responded, a light shrug given. "As much as I'd like the credit, it would get me caught. And before you ask, Spinner, I will be following you all back, hidden by the cloaking device." Spinner rolled his eyes, but he had almost asked the previously answered question.

Kit got back into her car, shutting the top behind her. She pressed a gray button and the car melted into the darkness, invisible. Sherman and Spinner slid back into the Buster Tank, shut the top, and turned on the comlink. "We've got the key!" they declared in unison.

"Good work, guys," Vert praised. Sherman felt bad about taking all the credit, but Kit needed to stay hidden for now. Spinner, however, was living things up.

"Thanks, Vert! We totally crunched those Vandals! Sever and Krocomodo didn't know what him 'em!" Spinner exclaimed. Sherman rolled his eyes at his older brother and pulled away from the cliff. For a split second, the Clockwork reappeared, and he swore he saw Kit wink at him. And then the Clockwork disappeared again, and the two vehicles took off for the portal. "We slammed into Sever and he crashed into one of the pyramids, and his car was so totally wrecked! And then Krocomodo – we threw him around like a rag doll with the mace-chains!" Kit and Sherman rolled their eyes. "Both of them ran away, scared, like little itty-bitty babies!" Spinner started laughing.

Kit knocked the Clockwork into the Buster Tank, lightly so that it didn't do any damage. However, it was hard enough so that Spinner screamed like a little girl again. Kit stifled her laughter and ended up turning her comlink off so that no one would hear her laughing. Sherman chuckled as they pulled up to the rest of the group.

"I heard you mention Kit," Stanford piped up. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," Sherman said, smacking Spinner as the boy continued to gloat. The older Cortez folded his arms across his chest. "Let's get out of this battle zone."

"Before those Vandals show up again!" Spinner added. "Although I doubt they will, because they're all too afraid of me!" Sherman rolled his eyes and face palmed as the key shot off of the front of the Buster Tank. The group drove forward and through the portal, heading back to Earth.

**

* * *

**

Review! Tell me whatcha think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone! I own nothing except for Kit and Diesel, all else belongs to their rightful owners! Enjoy! **

**Note: I know the time jump is nuts, but it'll make sense in future chapters. **

* * *

_**1 Year Later... **_

"Spinner, would you hurry up? Lucas is waiting!" Kit yelled, elbowing Sherman out of the way. The taller, younger boy looked down at her and rolled his eyes. "I swear that kid has ADD, Sherman! Bust the door down, would you? Nobody takes that long in the bathroom!" The brunette had one issue with Spinner: His morning routine. The boy would get up and feed Bigfoot, and then he would go to his dresser and pick out his clothes. Afterward, he would go to the bathroom, and he'd be in there for at least half an hour. He did everything super slowly in the mornings.

"Just give him a minute, Kit," Sherman replied, waiting. He was annoyed with his brother's pace, too, but he did have an inkling of patience, unlike the brunette standing next to him. "He did have a lot of pizza last night…" Kit grimaced and sighed, folding her arms across her chest. She was already dressed, because she had taken the bathroom while Spinner was feeding Bigfoot. Sherman was dressed as well, as he had taken it while his brother was getting out his clothes.

"I'm not the most patient person, Sherman," Kit responded in annoyance. "I just want to get down there before I get caught! We've worked hard for the past year trying to keep my presence here a secret, and I don't want a year's worth of work to go down the drain just because of your crazy older brother." Kit was not a morning person, either. Sherman patted her on the shoulder, and in response she just gave him a deadly glare. Finally, the door flew open, and Spinner stepped out…wearing a pair of Kit's shorts and one of Kit's shirts.

Since all Kit wore during the hot summer months were basketball shorts and t-shirts, it didn't look too bad on Spinner. Except for the fact that the shorts went down to the middle of Spinner's calf, and the shirt was a little too big as well. "Dude! Those are my clothes! And they don't even fit you!" Kit said, a little mortified that Spinner had raided her things.

"Yeah, because they're too big!" Spinner snorted. On Kit, the shorts would've reached just a little past her knees, and the shirt would be loose yet comfortable. On Spinner, it made him look like a skinny hobo with nice clothing. "I guess I should change." Kit nodded and smacked him on the back of his spiky haired head. He gave her puppy dog eyes and then walked back into the bathroom.

"This is just pitiful," Kit muttered under her breath, folding her arms across her chest.

When Spinner finally emerged from the bathroom, the three got out of the base, managing to keep Kit unseen. The brunette jumped into the Clockwork and listened as it purred to life. The Buster Tank started up a few moments later, and the group drove out of the garage. In the distance, a yellow car with white racing stripes could be seen. Someone was sitting on the hood.

"Hey," Lucas greeted as Kit pulled up, followed by Sherman and Spinner. She popped out of the top of her vehicle and looked his car over. "Ready to go? Or are you three afraid that you'll lose to the magnificent Lucas Hardigan?" The boy with the curly, muddy brown hair smirked as Spinner popped out of the Tank.

"Lucas, you're going to get your butt whooped! The Buster Tank is the best vehicle there is!" Spinner declared, as he and Lucas had a stare down. Both boys were the same age, and they were rivals nonetheless. Kit waved her hand as Sherman appeared next to his older brother.

"Alright, boys!" Kit said, stopping the stare down. "Let's get this show on the road." Sherman and Spinner nodded and slid back into the Buster Tank. Lucas opened the door and shimmied into his car, as Kit dropped back into the Clockwork. "Whoever reaches the diner first, wins!" Kit explained. She took a moment to glance out at the pink, purple, and orange streaks in the sky. It was dawn, or daybreak, as some people liked to call it. It was the perfect time for a race. The brunette closed the top and put both hands firmly on the wheel.

"Ready?" Lucas asked, smirking slightly. "Set…Go!" Everyone put the pedal to the medal as they sped off through the dark desert. Kit pressed a gray button and grinned as her car melted away, the cloaking device coming in handy at that moment. Spinner spotted the car just as it disappeared. He nudged Sherman, who nodded once. They sped through the desert, dust specks flying up around them. Lucas had taken the lead, but of course no one knew where Kit was, so they didn't know if she was ahead of Lucas or not.

"Should we use the turbo boosters?" Spinner asked Sherman. The younger boy shook his head.

"We should wait until we get closer to the finish line," Sherman replied, speeding up as Lucas slowed down. The boy seemed to be looking at something in front of them, and they didn't know what until they saw Kit reappear and Sherman heard Spinner yelp. Something thumped beneath the Buster Tank.

"Was that a skateboard?" Spinner asked, a little worried. The smaller boy opened the top of the Tank and peeked out. Lucas had one hand cupped over his mouth as he squinted in the darkness. Kit came around to the side of the Buster Tank and got down on her stomach. She looked under the Tank and gasped, crawling under. Spinner jumped down and waited, as Sherman followed suit. Kit crawled back out with a mess in her arms, however, that mess was a dog.

"You hit a dog!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What's a dog doing in the desert?" Sherman asked, rubbing the back of his neck. The dog was a mess, but whom or what wouldn't be after getting hit by the Buster Tank? It was such a bloody (literally) mess.

"Sage!" Kit suddenly gasped, running back to the Clockwork.

"What do you mean?" Spinner asked, looking after the brunette.

"I mean, Sage can do something!" Kit replied, putting the pedal to the medal. The three boys stared after the retreating, burnt orange car.

"She's always had a soft spot for German Shepherd dogs," Lucas explained, a serious expression gracing his face. He got back into his yellow camaro as Sherman and Spinner climbed back into the Buster Tank. "Ever since we were kids, she's always had a soft spot for them. But she wasn't allowed to have a dog." They drove to the base, where Kit had parked the Clockwork in its usual hiding place. They parked their vehicles and walked down to the secret underground base.

Sage was nowhere in sight, but the brunette was sitting on the Reverb. The rest of the group was still zonked out in their rooms, so it was all clear for her and Lucas to hang around. Even after a year, Sherman was pretty sure that Kit still had feelings for Stanford. "What could Sage possibly do?" Lucas asked, going and sitting next to her.

"I dunno… It's worth a shot, y'know," Kit replied. "I can't just let a dog die in the middle of the desert! That's inhumane!"

"But it's a dog," Lucas replied.

"Lucas, if it was a dang turtle you'd be peeing your pants right about now," Kit snorted in annoyance. She gave him a sideways glance, gaining a small smirk.

"Hey! I would not be peeing my pants!" Lucas defended himself. "I would be spazzing out and asking Sage to help the poor little guy." The two shared serious looks and rolled their eyes.

"I guess," Kit grumbled. "Just hope the poor pup is OK. He still had his puppy fur…"

"You're making me feel really guilty over here!" Sherman finally piped up.

"Ah, it's alright, Sherman," the brunette replied, waving off his comment. Lucas and Spinner traded curious glances, before shifting away from Kit and Sherman. The two walked a few yards away and watched Kit and Sherman talk for a while. They must've been joking around, because they were both grinning and laughing every so often.

"I have an idea!" Spinner declared.

"Usually, that's a bad thing," Lucas replied, grinning. He laughed at Spinner's expression.

"Not cool, dude," Spinner said. Lucas quieted down. "Listen, we should try and hook Sherm and Kit up! It would be really good. I know Sherman has some weird crush on her or something. So it would work out, we could have them meet up at the diner!"

"They'd never go for it," Lucas replied.

"We don't have to tell them that's what they're going to the diner for. We could lie about it," Spinner replied. "You know, trick them!"

"Well… What if Grace and Zeke see Kit?" Lucas shot back.

"Well…" Spinner started, trying to think for a moment.

"There's a hole in your almighty plan," Lucas replied.

"Shut up, turtle boy! I know what we can do," Spinner responded. "All we have to do is make sure Grace and Zeke aren't around. We can send them into town or something! And then Kit and Sherman would have time to themselves. Anymore questions?"

"Yeah. What if the rest of the Battle Force 5 walks in on their little "date", huh, Spinner?" Lucas answered, folding his arms across his chest.

"You and your "what if's"… All we'd have to do is make sure they don't walk in. Simple as that," Spinner replied, a light shrug given. Lucas sighed in defeat.

"Alright… Let's do it!" Lucas replied. The two did a fist bump and then walked back over to Sherman and Kit. The two were now talking about atoms and molecules, so Spinner and Lucas didn't understand any of it. "Umm…dudes? In English, please!" Lucas cut in. However, the boy was ignored.

"Yeah, yeah, I totally understand," Kit replied. "So the molecular structure must've gotten messed up!" She face palmed. "Smart boy." Sherman smiled proudly.

"ENGLISH!" Spinner and Lucas shouted in unison. Kit and Sherman looked at them curiously. Before anything else could be said or done, Sage reappeared. A table was floating at her side, with the dog on it. He was lying on his side, motionless. Spinner's face fell – he didn't wanna see a dead dog. Kit slid off of the Reverb as Lucas and Sherman traded glances.

"I have managed to repair his injuries. But I had to replace the right half of his body with Sentient technology. It is much like the armor used on the Buster Tank. There is artificial fur on his right side, so that people will not get suspicious," Sage explained. The dog stood up and sniffed around. His right eye was a red optic, and the pads on the bottom of his paws were a sliver-pinkish color. "Since he is equipped with such technology, he now has a sonic bark." The dog barked and it sounded robotic and hollow, yet with the liveliness of an organic dog mixed in. After all, he was still half organic. "He also has enhanced sense, and his intelligence level is double that of a regular dog's. Now all he needs, is a name, and a master."

"Diesel!" Kit suddenly yelled. The dog perked his ears up and jumped off of the floating table, pounding over to Kit. He licked her face. "Good boy, Diesel!" She rubbed behind his ears and his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth. "Can we keep him?"

"He'll eat my turtle!" Lucas complained.

"No he won't! You won't eat Lucas' turtle, Stephen, will you, Diesel?" Kit asked the cyborg dog. Diesel barked and shook his head. His tail wagged back and forth vigorously. "See! This is my dog!" she replied. The brunette continued by saying, "Sit, boy!" Diesel's butt hit the floor instantly. "Good boy!"

"Aww… I wanna pet him!" Spinner said, walking over. He patted Diesel on the head and pretty soon Sherman was playing around with the dog as well. Lucas couldn't help but cave, as he ran over and joined the other three.

"Thanks, Sage," Kit called to the retreating Sentient. Sage smiled and disappeared.

**

* * *

**

Review! Tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I own nothing except for Kit, Diesel, and that weird turtle named Stephen, and all else belongs to their rightful owners! Enjoy! **

* * *

Diesel sniffed around the Cortez brother's room the next morning, searching for something to chew on. He scanned the room with his high tech right eye and snorted, crawling under Spinner's bed. He looked around in the darkness, pressing his ears against his head. What to chew on… Well, Spinner did have a few t-shirts under his bed, along with one delicious looking shoe. Diesel put his paw on a lump of t-shirt, but something snapped at him. He whimpered in fear and jumped up, bumping his head on the bottom of the bed.

Spinner jolted awake, letting out a shrill scream. Sherman sighed in frustration and put the pillow over his head, trying to ignore his brother. "Was it another nightmare about the cupcake guy again?" Sherman asked in annoyance. "Because I'm not listening to the story about how cupcake man tried to bake you inside his oven at 450 degrees!" Spinner made a face and then paused for a moment.

"Sherman?" he whispered. "What if cupcake man is under my bed?" Sherman shook his head and slid farther under the covers to avoid answering any stupid questions. "I'm serious! Something thumped under my bed!" Spinner got to his feet and dropped his sheets and pillow. He leapt onto Sherman's bed and crawled under the covers. "Dude… Go look under my bed!" Spinner whimpered, crawling on top of his brother. Sherman glared up at Spinner and rolled his eyes, shoving the older boy off of his chest.

He got up and walked to Spinner's bed, kneeling down next to the bed. He looked under it and saw Diesel trying to take a bite out of Stephen, Lucas' turtle. "Spinner!" Sherman exclaimed. Spinner squealed and wrapped himself in a cocoon of blankets in fear. "It's just Diesel and Stephen having a…fight…" Sherman said, watching as the turtle chomped down on Diesel's left paw. The dog yelped in pain and shook the turtle off, scampering out from under the bed. He pounced on Sherman, knocking the younger Cortez over.

Diesel was shaking in fear as Stephen the turtle trekked out from under the bed. "Wait… It was the dog and the turtle? Well crap!" Spinner mumbled, jumping out of his cocoon. He picked Stephen up and patted the little turtle on the head. "Aww… Let's let you see Bigfoot, huh, boy?" Spinner asked in a childish tone, talking to the turtle like he was a baby. Stephen bit Spinner's finger. "Ow! Aww, you're a feisty little fellow, aren't you?" Spinner put Stephen down on the dresser, right next to the tank that contained Bigfoot.

The goldfish swam to the side of the tank as Stephen peered in with beady black turtle eyes. They seemed to be having an animal stare down, until Stephen got upset and started trying to attack Bigfoot by banging his head against the glass. Sherman hoisted Kit's cyborg dog and set him on his bed and then looked over at the turtle and fish. "Spinner, you might wanna grab Stephen, before he hurts himself," Sherman suggested. But Spinner was already asleep on the floor.

Diesel barked and looked up at Sherman curiously. The younger brother rolled his eyes and patted the dog on the head. "I guess you were looking for something to chew on, right?" Sherman asked. Diesel barked, sending a sonic blast out. Luckily it wasn't very powerful. Before anything else could be done, Diesel's ears pricked up and he barked, running around on Sherman's bed. Just as he stopped and sat down, stock still, Kit entered the room. She yawned and snapped her fingers. Sherman watched as Diesel jumped off of the bed and ran over to her.

"Here ya go, boy," Kit said, brandishing a fish. Diesel looked up hungrily as Kit held it high above his head. "Roll over." The German Shepherd dog immediately did so, and then jumped back up, wagging his tail in anticipation. Kit threw the fish up in the air and said, "Catch it, boy!" Diesel leapt up and caught the fish in his mouth, scarfing it down afterward. "Good boy," Kit praised, rubbing him behind his ears. He barked and the brunette put her finger on his muzzle, so he quieted down.

Sherman walked back over to the fish tank and picked Stephen up, setting him down on the bedside table. Diesel walked past Kit and out the door, but she didn't mind; he knew not to get himself into any trouble. The pup trekked around for a few minutes, trying to find something to keep himself occupied. Diesel huffed and sat down, his tail wagging back and forth, although a sort of puppy frown was on his face. Suddenly his ears pricked up and he looked around, watching as a red head exited one of the other rooms.

_Stanford! _Was the only word floating through Diesel's enhanced mind. He wondered what he should do. Kit didn't speak much of the boy, but the dog knew who he was. Let's just say that Diesel's parents were dogs that belonged to Simon, Stanford's brother. Diesel had always hated Simon, but he hated Stanford even more. A growl trickled out and Stanford turned his tired, emerald green eyes over to the dog. "You!" the boy exclaimed, backing away. "What are you doing here? You're… You're Simon's creation!" Stanford yelped.

Diesel barked and lurched forward, but Stanford ran like a little girl. He ran back into his room and made sure the door was closed. Diesel barked out what would be considered a laugh. He trotted back to the brother's room and entered, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Kit looked at him suspiciously as he made himself comfortable on Spinner's bed. "Crazy dog," she muttered under her breath, walking into the bathroom. The door slammed shut and Diesel snickered.

A few minutes later, Kit emerged dressed in a white, long sleeved shirt, with a sleeveless gray hoodie, and dark blue jeans with tears in the knees. She had on the thick black sneakers. "I got a gig to go to," Kit explained. "We'll be back later on." The brunette stepped back into the bathroom and pressed her thumb into a tray of black paint. She smeared her thumb against her cheeks, thus creating a thick black line of paint underneath both of her eyes. It resembled the look of the football player, but this was more to go with the persona she played while in her band.

After smudging a little glitter across her face, she applied gray mascara and then she proceeded to exit the bathroom. She flipped up her hood so that no one could see her face, however. "Why do you even bother with the paint and glitter if you're just going to wear your hood up?" Sherman asked, a little amused.

"I dunno. If the hood comes off, this sort of disguises me," Kit replied. "I gotta go! I'll be back later! Make sure Diesel doesn't eat Stephen!" With that, Kit ran out of the room.

* * *

The Battle Force 5 was sitting in the diner, having a quiet lunch. Well, Spinner was turning into a production, as he and Zoom were having a burping contest. Agura just rolled her eyes, and suddenly she realized that Stanford was nowhere to be found. "Hey, Vert!" she called. The blonde looked over at her curiously. "Where's the epic failure?" Just before Vert could even open his mouth to answer, Stanford burst in.

"Guys! Guess what we're doing tonight!" the red head exclaimed. No one answered. "We're going to a concert!" He waved tickets in the air. Sherman almost choked on his drink, while soda shot out of Spinner's nose, soaking Agura in snot and Sprite. The girl was annoyed, but she didn't say anything. "What?" He looked curiously at the brother's.

"Umm… What band is it?" Sherman asked, as Spinner whined about his nose burning from the carbonated drink.

"Blacktop, why?" Stanford replied. When the others didn't answer, he continued by saying, "You know, Blacktop as in the asphalt in parking lots?"

"No, no, we get that part," Sherman replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Then what's the big deal! They're one of the biggest bands!" the boy with the thick British accent replied. "They're great!"

"Oh wait, I know what band you're talking about!" Zoom exclaimed. "I love that band! The guitarists are awesome!"

"I know, right?" Stanford said in agreement.

"You got tickets?" Vert asked in surprised. "I think the kid on the keyboard is the best!"

"So we can go, then," Stanford said with a satisfied smirk.

"Of course!" Vert replied. "We all need a break." Spinner snorted and pulled out a VIP pass. "How'd you get those?" Vert asked, in surprise.

"We got lucky," Sherman cut in, giving Spinner a dangerous glance. The spiky haired boy stuck his tongue out at his brother and nodded in response.

"Hey, did you hear about how the female singer never takes down her hood?" Zoom asked. He and Stanford launched into a conversation about it all. Sherman and Spinner traded glances. This was going to be a long, long night.

**

* * *

**

Review! Tell me what you think might happen!


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to everyone! I own nothing except for Kit, all else belongs to their rightful owners! Enjoy! **

* * *

The Battle Force 5 brought Grace along with them, but Stanford kept trying to flirt with her. Vert just pushed him out of the way, as usual. Zoom took the backstage pass and ran like heck, with the red head close behind. The flashed the passes and ran back, darting past the crew and every other lucky fan that had managed to get backstage passes.

"Kit!" Sera hissed, punching her friend in the arm. Kit socked her in the arm in reply, but nodded when she spotted Zoom and Stanford. She pulled up her hood as the woman touching up the glitter and mascara walked away. Sera ruffled up her messy blonde hair and watched Zoom. She could care less about Stanford, it was Zoom that she wanted to impress. "Hey guys!" the blonde greeted, waving slightly. The two boys came up to them.

"So you're the drummer?" Zoom asked, looking at Sera curiously. The blonde nodded. "Cool!" Sera and Zoom started talking and Kit pushed the blonde away with her foot. The two walked off and left the brunette and the red head alone. Kit needed a quick fix to get out of this situation, but for now, there was nothing she could do.

"Aw, so you won't take the hood down for even a fan like me?" Stanford asked, smirking. Kit rolled her eyes, thankful he didn't know it was her. If she talked, she'd probably get caught. She just nodded once, taking on a godfather sort of air. She sat back in her chair, crossing her ankle over her knee, folding her hands in her lap. "Ooh. Playing hard to get, are we?"

"You bet," she muttered under her breath. Making her voice higher than usual, she said, "Listen, I have to go meet up with the rest of the band. If you want, you can talk to the guitarists." With that, Kit stood up and walked away. When she spotted Spinner, she pulled him behind a curtain and dropped her hood. "Dude! Keep Stanford on a tight leash!" she said threateningly, pushing Spinner back out. The small boy dusted off his clothes and walked back over to Sherman.

When the concert started, everyone was surprised that Lucas was on vocals instead of Kit. It had become obvious when the band had first made their appearance that they had a female and a male vocalist, but usually they started off their shows with Kit singing. Now, she wasn't on the stage. Nonetheless, Lucas was getting the crowd pumped up. When the first couple of songs ended, Angel, one of the backup dancers, ran backstage and found Kit waiting behind the curtain.

"Dude! C'mon!" Angel said, brushing her brown side-swept bangs out of her eyes. "Lucas is gonna come back here, remember last time at rehearsal? You seem distracted." The brunette girls sat down for a moment, on two rather large crates. "What's up with you?"

"I dunno Angel," Kit replied, looking at her friend. "I've just been doing some thinking…"

"You're always thinking about something."

"Well I mean about something different," Kit explained. "Ya see there are two really important guys in my life, one I haven't talked to in a year, the other I talk to every day. And it's just… Crazy…" Angel nodded and patted her blue eyed friend on the shoulder. "Maybe if I get out there it'll take my mind off of things." The two stood up and Kit flipped her hood up. They walked out onto the stage.

After a few songs, Sera jumped up and did a stage dive. Kit and Lucas just traded glances. There was one backup dancer named J, and he was taller than Sherman. J tried to do a stage dive… It didn't end so well. Lucas started laughing hysterically so Kit pushed the boy off the stage and started the next song.

Stanford and Zoom were hatching a plan, and they figured they'd have to go on the run from the cops afterward, for "assault" but they knew they'd get famous for it if it worked. Lucas was on vocals now, but Kit was singing backup and she was close to the stage's edge. Zoom reached up and tapped her foot. Instinctively the brunette looked down and Stanford jumped up and pushed her hood back. The crowd was astounded but Lucas kept singing, so they kept cheering.

Kit slipped and fell on her butt, glaring down at Zoom and Stanford. She realized her hood was down… Luckily, Stanford didn't know it was her, and neither did Zoom, only because she had the glitter and the mascara on. Kit had wispy bangs on either side of her face, not like the ones that go across a person's forehead. The right side's bangs were longer and showed more, and at this point they had been dyed a charcoal gray colour to go with her outfit. Since said bangs covered Kit's right eye, you couldn't really tell that it was her.

So for now, the brunette was safe.

As soon as she could, she threw her hood back on and jumped into the crowd. She grabbed the nearest Cortez brother she could find – which was Spinner, unfortunately – and yanked him by his spiky hair through the crowd and backstage. She set him down in a chair and glared at him. "I told you to keep Stanford on a tight leash!"

"It wasn't just Stanford, it was Zoom, too," Spinner said defensively. "At least you had your bangs dyed gray."

"Yeah, only 'cause I was afraid this might happen!" Kit shot back. "Imagine what would happen if Stanford had found out it was me!"

"So you don't like him anymore, right?" the short boy asked. Kit rounded on him and eyed him suspiciously. "What?" Spinner put on his innocent look and tilted his head down. "I'm just askin' a question…"

"Spinner, what rules did we establish?" Kit asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Rule number one: Never ask who Kit likes. Rule number two: Never talk about Stanford, unless he is getting beat up and/or made fun of. Rule number three: Never ask if Kit likes Sherman or Stanford, or which one she likes more. Rule number four: Never put spaghetti in Kit's personal-" Spinner droned on, but Kit cut him off there, so he skipped that rule. "Rule number five: Never put shaving cream in a whoopee cushion and have Kit sit on it. Rule number six: Never tell Kit she is as stupid as a sack of potatoes. Rule number seven: Never try to get Stephen to fight Diesel in a makeshift wrestling ring. And rule number eight: Never, ever, ask Kit if she eats puppies for breakfast," Spinner finished, looking up at Kit with dull olive green eyes.

"Good boy. Now which rule did you just violate?" the brunette asked. She was angry. Very angry. In fact, Spinner would've said that she was pissed off-angry.

"Rule number three," Spinner replied, looking down. Kit tried to look angry and mean, but she couldn't help but give in when he turned his eyes on her.

"…Spinner! This is how you get off with Sherman! You're off the hook – for now! Now, go get your lug of a brother to keep Stanford in check!" Kit exclaimed, clapping Spinner on the shoulder. He nodded and hopped up, running past her. Kit sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She played with her gray bangs. She was glad she had dyed those bangs and made sure they covered her right eye. The girl face palmed and sighed, walking back out on stage.

Later on that evening, the BF5 headed back to the diner to drop Grace off so that she could pick up her car. Stanford and Zoom were palling around with each other, after they had pulled that stunt. Spinner and Sherman made their way back to the base before everyone else and entered the kitchen/living room area. Spinner went straight for the Sprite in the back of the fridge, while Sherman just shook his head. "Spinner, I can't believe Kit went soft on you," the younger Cortez said, still a little surprised. "You're just lucky."

"Yeah, yeah, hey, would you do me a favor?" Spinner asked, straightening up as he cracked open his can of soda.

"What's the favor?" Sherman asked.

"I need you to run down to the diner tomorrow morning and meet up with Kit. She had a question about hydrogen atoms or something like that, so I told her you'd meet her at the diner," Spinner replied, sipping his soda. He did his best to sound super convincing. Apparently, it worked.

"Yeah, I'll meet her there. What time?" Sherman queried.

"Uh, nine o'clock," Spinner responded, chugging down half of his Sprite.

"Okay. I'm beat, so I'm goin' to bed," the younger of the two Cortez brothers explained. "See you in the morning, big bro."

"See you in the morning, little bro!" Spinner called over his shoulder as he pulled out another Sprite. When Sherman was out of ear shot, he said, "Another Sprite, to a plan that actually worked this time!"

* * *

Kit and Lucas were driving back to the base. "Hey, Katczinsky," Lucas said, as they drove slowly back to the base. The brunette grunted her reply, too annoyed and exhausted to actually use words. "I need you to do me a favor tomorrow morning. I need you to run down to the diner tomorrow morning and meet up with Sherman. He had a question about the Clockwork or something like that, so I told him you'd meet him at the diner," Lucas replied, hoping he sounded super convincing.

"Yeah, I'll meet him there," Kit responded after a moment of hesitance. "What time?"

"Uh... Nine o'clock," Lucas replied, brushing invisible dust off of the dashboard of his car.

"Okay," Kit replied. It was silent until they reached the base. "I'm hittin' the hay. Night, Lucas."

"Night, Kit."

* * *

The next morning, Kit and Sherman headed to the diner. Somehow, Spinner and Lucas had managed to get Grace and Zeke to head into the town, telling them that they needed more food, as the fridge had been cleaned out the previous night before. (Courtesy of the two culprits.) So those two were gone, and the Battle Force 5 was out on the town, as well. Sherman reached the diner first; Spinner had made him leave earlier than Kit. Lucas had stalled Kit and so she arrived a few minutes later.

"You had a question about atoms," and "You had a question about the Clockwork," were both said at the same time, as the two met up in the diner. Lucas and Spinner bolted. The two looked at each other curiously, as they watched the two boys run away.

"Lucas told me you had a question about the Clockwork," Kit told Sherman.

"Spinner told me you had a question about atoms," Sherman told Kit.

For a moment, neither party understood what was going on.

And when they did, they both stood there, eyes wide.

**

* * *

**

Review! Tell me what you think might happen!


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone so far! I own nothing except for Kit, all else belongs to their rightful owners! Also, I do not own any of the songs or song lyrics mentioned in this chapter. And I was experimenting to see if I could write a decent first person point of view sort of thing, so yeah. Enjoy! **

* * *

"I'm going to hurt both of them!" Kit said, as she paced back and forth. Sherman rolled his eyes as he watched the brunette attempt to blow off steam. "I'll string 'em up the flag pole! They'd better have friends at the hospital! I'm going to hurt them both so bad that they won't walk for a month!" Kit finally sat down across from Sherman, folding her arms across her chest. "Aren't you mad?" She looked at him curiously.

"Yes. But what good will it do if we string them up the flag pole? That won't teach Spinner anything," the younger Cortez brother responded, a light shrug given. "Why don't we play along with this and see what happens? You need a break from Lucas and I need a break from Spinner." Kit rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed. "I _do _need a break."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucas was mingling around the local mall. There was nothing else he could do, and Spinner had ditched him to go find the rest of the Battle Force 5. The boy sighed and wandered around some more, a little bored. He stopped in the pet store and looked at the turtles, but pretty soon something else caught his eye. He ran out of the pet store and hid behind a plant that was next to the elaborate fountain. He watched as a certain red head walked through the mall hastily, looking a little peeved.

Someone smacked him on the back and he fell forward, slamming into the floor. This caught Stanford's attention, just as Lucas looked over his shoulder to see Kendra running away from the scene. He jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Oi! You're Lucas!" Stanford said in surprise, pointing at him. Lucas shook his head and turned to walk away. But, Stanford was a little too persistent. "Hey, hey! I'm one of your band's biggest fans!" Lucas paused and sighed, sitting down on a bench.

Stanford sat down next to him. "Yeah, I'm Lucas," the boy replied, looking at the excited British boy beside him. "That stunt you pulled at the concert last night made you look like a total idiot, by the way." Stanford nodded and looked down for a moment. "What?" Lucas was worried that Stanford knew that Kit was in the band. Or that Kit was back, for that matter.

"I know. And…well that singer reminds me a lot of an old friend I had about a year back," Stanford replied. "But she left because I acted like an idiot…" Lucas almost felt bad for Stanford. "I made the biggest mistake of my life when I did what I did… Well, the second biggest mistake. The first big mistake was when I tried to tell Simon that he was adopted. But that's beside my point!" The red head sighed. "And even if she does come back, why would she come back? I almost let her get killed!"

"Well that's one thing you don't wanna do when trying to impress a girl," Lucas snorted. "Sounds like you need to get her back."

"Right," Stanford replied. "But how do you expect me to do that? I don't know where she is…"

* * *

**Kit's POV**

_Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start, and I bet that you exploded in my heart… _I repeated that line of that particular song over and over again in my head. It didn't rain much out here in Handler's Corners, but today was one of those days when it rained like crazy. Even though I was afraid of thunderstorms, I did like the rain. Sherman and I had stopped talking after a while, both unsure of what to say, I suppose. I'd glance at him every few minutes, but I'd look away and shake my head.

If I could only figure out what he was thinking about!

There's one thing you should know about me. I can't see emotion in people's eyes, if you understand what I mean. I may see a sparkle, but that's about it. I see eye colour first, and that's what I was good at, eye colour. Like Sherman's eyes were olive green, just like Spinner's. But Vert's were a bright blue, and of course Stanford's were emerald green. Agura's seemed caramel brown to me, while on the other hand, Zoom's were just brown. So if you catch me looking someone straight in the eye, it's so that I can see their eye colour.

I sighed and repeated the line from the song in my head again. _Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start, and I bet that you exploded in my heart… _I jumped when I heard the thunder crack outside, but I calmed down soon afterward. Maybe I was just jumpy. I shrugged to myself and rested my chin in my palm, continuing to stare out the window. I watched as rain streaked down the window, and I was tempted to press my hand against the glass. Another line from the song entered my mind as I contemplated this… _Oh, Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him… _What was it with this song?

I snorted and rolled my eyes, which caught Sherman's attention. I suppose that's partly why I did that, but oh well. I looked back at him with a thoughtful expression. We didn't say anything, but I didn't think we needed to. It was easy to tell that we were both thinking about the same thing. If he'd just say something about it! I wasn't going to bring it up, that was for sure.

I directed my eyes back to the window, focusing on the raindrop that slid down the window. I put my index finger on the glass and traced its path. The glass was surprisingly cold, but I was wearing a hoodie, so I felt fine. The raindrop disappeared, only to be replaced by another raindrop. I smirked slightly, but it was bitter more than anything else. The disappearing raindrops reminded me of Stanford, because I was like the disappearing raindrop. I had dripped away, and now I was gone, and I wasn't going back to him.

Not that I had ever been with him in the first place.

What had I become? Just a bitter person, I suppose. If that's all I was going to amount to, then so be it. But why was fate so cruel? I did want happiness, but it was just out of my grasp. I couldn't have Stanford, not that I wanted him. (OK, maybe that's partly a lie.) And I didn't think Sherman was someone I could have, either. I didn't really think he wanted me in the first place, but what the heck? Why was I thinking about Sherman? OK, OK, I'll admit I had developed some sort of…_attraction _to him over the past year, but really, it wasn't anything special…

I rolled my eyes at my mind-blathering. I was indeed a rambler. Another song popped into my head, so I repeated a line from that song in my head, too. _So I look in your direction, but you pay me no attention, do you? _So many songs, so many meanings, so many words… They all fit me so well, but none of them helped me in any way, shape, or form. The rain fell harder against the glass as I mulled these thoughts over.

"Kit!" Sherman called, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I sat up straight and looked at him in surprise.

He had startled me.

I had let my guard down.

"Yeah?" I asked, voice husky. I tended to get that way whenever I was thinking about something serious. I sighed and looked back down at the table, waiting for the guy across from me to answer. Waiting is the hardest part, they say. I've learned that it is indeed the hardest part. I chewed my bottom lip in anticipation. What would he say? I knew what I wanted, no _needed _him to say, but like it'd ever happen. You wanna know why?

Because life ain't a fairy tale.

"I can tell that you're bored."

"I'm not bored," I said with a chuckle. "No, no, Sherman. I'm thinking… It's almost like I'm arguing with myself…"

"That's an interesting way to put it," Sherman replied. I liked talking to Sherman, because he was one of the only people I could have a serious conversation with. Or just a simple conversation, but the words always held more than I could understand, and I think he felt the same way, as well. I didn't know how to reply, but I just said what came to mind.

"I dunno. I suppose so."

Pause.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sherman asked curiously. I could feel those olive green eyes watching me. If I shifted, they followed. It unnerved me. In fact, now I know how he feels whenever I watch him that way. I didn't know what to say. Sometimes words escaped me. I didn't want to sound like some bumbling idiot, so I just gave him a dark, blue eyed glance. I couldn't hold his gaze, though, so I looked back to the window. I couldn't muster up enough strength, enough will power to control my emotions and words.

I didn't know why I was suddenly feeling so guilty…so angry…so upset… But it all washed over me like a tidal wave. I sighed, and it seemed sharp. It was almost like it stabbed through the silence, but there was no blood. Blood being words, metaphorically speaking. I felt the pressure release as Sherman's olive green eyes shifted to the window. He was quiet when he wanted to be. As was I. I chewed my bottom lip a little more, only to keep myself from saying something I might regret saying later on.

It's hard for me to stay level-headed, but around Sherman, it's rather easy. Around Stanford is another story. I can't keep my temper in check around him, but what else makes life interesting? I've never had luck in my love life, but after a while, I just stopped caring. Well, that's a lie. I just buried it. Deep down inside, with the rest of my insecurities. Was I striving to be perfect? Possibly… But that was messed up. If anyone was imperfect, it was me. If anyone was perfect, it had to be Sherman. I'd even say Stanford is a better person than I am… But I'd start laughing about that statement.

But I'm positive Sherman is a good person. He's better than me. He always has been.

I'm not degrading myself. (In my mind, I'm not.) I'm just calling it like I see it. I guess my point… Is that I don't know who I want. But I won't count on getting them. So I'm thinking about what I'm going to do now. Now that our band is a hit, now that I have something to fall back on, now that I have an amazing car… Couldn't I leave?

Pressure. S'all I felt.

Sherman's olive green eyes were on me again. It was like he could tell what I was thinking about. I snorted and lost the whole leaving resolve. I shook my head and stood up, looking at Sherman curiously for a moment. I sat back down, propped my feet up on the table and put my hands behind my head. He had this effect, this pull. I _had _to stay. I dunno why, so don't ask me. (OK, I do know why…) I didn't care if people stared at me. (Which was odd.) "Talk," I commanded simply.

"What about?" Sherman asked, raising his eyebrows in question. I shrugged.

"Does it matter?" I responded. Which was true.

Because it didn't matter.

"If you say so," Sherman replied, a light shrug given.

"But let's take a walk," I said, suddenly jumping up.

"In the rain?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

We walked outside, and he had an umbrella in hand. I smirked and took it, using it to make sure I didn't get wet. "Run!" I told him, pushing him lightly. He just stared at me, before throwing his hands up in the air and he ran to the Buster Tank. Spinner must've taken Lucas' car.

Best friends are the friends that take your umbrella and tell you to run.

So I at least had him on my best friends list.

But what about Stanford?

It didn't matter at the moment in time. I just walked to the Buster Tank. Right now, I was satisfied.

**

* * *

**

OK, wow... Kit is a freaking rambler! :P I hope this chapter was OK. It was kind of a filler, but there was some important stuff in there. Anyways, review! Tell me what you think! Got any ideas on what might happen with Lucas and Stanford? :P Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	8. Chapter 8

O.O UPDATE! YES! FINALLY! I want to say that this chapter is written especially for thelivingtunic and SlGirl, and also Calm-Waters. I have epically failed at updating for about a month now, and I'd like to thank each and every reviewer and alerter for reading this! Of course, I thank the regular readers as well. :D So, enjoy this snap-tastic chapter. I hope it's good and not confusing. Also, Negative Kit will be known as **Negative Kit **while regular, positive, normal Kit will be known as Kit. (Not using the bold.) Enjoy!

* * *

Kit made sure the Clockwork was cloaked when they entered the battle zone. "Uh, guys…?" Zoom piped up, looking at their surroundings. Another day…another battle zone. "Um… I think we're back in that weird zone with our doubles." Vert shook his head, although he thought the same thing. Kit pressed a few buttons on the scanner and rolled her eyes. What were they talking about, doubles?

"Well, we just need to find the crystal that Sage sent us here to look for," Vert replied. Since they already had this dimension's battle key, they needn't worry about it. Sage needed a certain crystal that only grew in the caves of this particular zone, however… "Alright, let's go!" He took off, followed by Zoom and Agura. Sherman and Spinner followed after them, with Stanford bringing up the rear.

Kit stayed farther back, finally veering off course. She could see a few little bleeps on her radar, and out of curiosity, she drove towards them. Parking behind a rock formation, she hopped out of the car, not even bothering to un-cloak it. The cars coming forward were gray and had weird little symbols painted on the front. They looked like bona fied pieces of trash.

The cars stopped and the people inside stepped out, which was when Kit understood what Zoom had meant by "doubles." They were the complete opposites of the regular BF5, though. An orange car that mirrored the Clockwork joined the group, and Kit's "double" stepped out. Her double was dressed the same way, except her clothes were gray and black, while Kit's were orange and tan.

Kit's double went over to Stanford and stood with him. She thought for a moment. If everything was opposite in this dimension, that meant that love interests were opposite, right? If so, then she was _supposed _to be with Sherman. Of course, that was the logical way of thinking. "Whatever," she muttered under her breath, going back to the Clockwork. Then she realized she had forgotten to un-cloak it. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, she felt around for it.

"What's that?" Negative Vert asked, hearing a faint-yet-distinct noise. Kit stopped dead in her tracks and ran towards a small cave. The negatives prowled around, looking for the source of the noise. "There's someone here!"

"But there isn't, like, a car," Agura replied. "Wouldn't, like, they have a car?" Negative Zoom walked around but slammed into the Clockwork.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his knee. "There's something in the way."

"Let's blow it up!" Sherman piped up. **Negative Kit** knew that it was the Clockwork, only because her own car had a cloaking device.

"It's the Clockwork," she put in. "Not mine, but someone else's. Didn't you mention our goody-two shoes counterparts?"

"Yeah," came Vert's reply. "Now, where's the goody-two shoes Kit?"

"Right over…here…" **Negative Kit** said, walking towards the cave. She stepped in, and the real Kit ran out. "A-hah!" The group converged on her, but Kit ran towards her Clockwork. She jumped in it with some effort and peeled away from the group of negatives. "Follow her!" Before she knew what had hit her, she was being followed by the evil doubles.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap!" Kit exclaimed, swerving onto another path. She looked back and watched as **Negative Kit** cloaked her own Clockwork and followed after her. "If I'm right, she should be able to see me on her radar, and I should be able to see her on my radar, since us both being cloaked cancels the ability out." She gunned it but she could see **Negative Kit's** red bleep coming straight towards her. "I need backup, but I can't let the rest of the group know that I'm here… Oh… What am I gonna do?" Kit asked herself. She knew that if she switched her comlink on that she'd be found out, but if she didn't…well, she didn't want to think about that. "Oh…screw it!" She pressed the button and her comlink went on. "Sherm, Spin, I need backup!" she said. There were a few gasps on the other end as the rest of the group realized that it was really her. "Seriously!" she said in a panic as she saw **Negative Kit's** little red bleep getting ever so close. "Hurry, before she fries me!"

"Kit!" Spinner half-screamed. "Now everyone knows!"

"You knew this whole time?" Vert asked, half-annoyed, half-alarmed. "And you didn't tell us?"

"Uh, Spinner," Sherman said, making a u-turn, "now would be a wonderful time to explain things."

"OK, so basically Sage called Kit to come back so that she could join the BF5, but Kit didn't want to see anyone. I found her and Sherman and I promised we'd hide her. We've been hiding her for a year," Spinner said, his words a rush.

"How'd you hide her for a year?" Agura demanded. "That's almost impossible!"

"It wasn't really that hard," Sherman cut in. "You all didn't think to look in our room and you were never up early enough to see her leave the base. Plus, her car is cloaked. She's been helping us get more battle keys."

"And you didn't say anything?" Stanford blurted out. "That's my ex-girlfriend!"

"Whoa, whoa, we were never boyfriend-girlfriend," Kit jumped in. "Now seriously, I need some help here!"

"We promised," Spinner retorted, ignoring Kit.

"Traitors!" Stanford shot back.

"Uh, hello? Guys!" Kit yelled, but she was being ignored – still.

"We are not traitors! You're the one who almost let us die when Hatch shot that bazooka!" Spinner argued.

"That was a bloody year ago!" Stanford returned hotly.

"So?" Spinner said in a childish manner.

"GUYS!"

"I was mad and I wasn't thinking! I was jealous!" the red head blurted out. He had never thought he'd actually admit it out loud. He had been denying it for over a year now, but he couldn't take it. Even Stanford has a conscience. "What have I done…?" On the other end, Kit had stopped the car completely. She couldn't believe Stanford had said that. But did he mean it? Of course not, she thought. How could he?

She hit the gas pedal again and kept driving. She was barely able to avoid being rammed into by her negative counterpart.

"Alright, Stanford, Spinner and Sherman, you go find Kit," Vert said after a moment of silence. "Zoom, Agura and I will try and get the crystal." They split up and the cars took off in different directions.

**Negative Kit **chased Kit into a cave that she knew had a large drop-off. The negative was chasing her counterpart right into a trap, a trap she'd never come back from.

"Kit, un-cloak the Clockwork," Sherman instructed over the comlink.

"Wha – why?"

"Because we have no idea where you are!" Stanford cut in. He sounded a little worried, but managed to keep it under control for the time being. Kit hesitated but pressed the button, revealing her car. Negative Kit, however, did not do this. Sherman could see her location on the map now, and luckily they were relatively close to that particular cave.

They Reverb and the Buster Tank headed into the cave as Kit doubled back. **Negative Kit** glared and made a u-turn, following after Kit. They both weaved around the bends until they came to a dead-end. **Negative Kit **un-cloaked her car and jumped out, approaching the regular, burnt orange Clockwork. Kit appeared and looked down at her evil counterpart. The two stared at each other for a minute. Kit noted that **Negative Kit** had a small clock symbol painted under her left eye, just like the others had their own symbols painted under their eyes.

"Your little friends comin' to save you, or what?"

"I dunno," Kit replied vaguely, looking past her counterpart.

"Well then I'll let you go, as long as you don't say anything about me. You positives shouldn't know I'm here with them, and you definitely shouldn't know that I'm in a relationship with Stanford," **Negative Kit **replied.

"OK, but you have to tell me something, first," Kit replied.

"OK, shoot."

"Since we're opposites and we live in opposite worlds, would our love interests be the same, or different?" Kit asked. She could not believe that she was asking her evil negative counterpart about this. "I'm rather confused…"

"Well," **Negative Kit** began thoughtfully, "I'd always imagined that they would be opposite. Say, if I was with Stanford, you'd be with Sherman, and if I was with Sherman, you'd be with Stanford. However, I'm not sure. Which one were you with first, if at all? Or, better yet, which one were you attracted to first?"

"Stanford."

"Ah, see, for me it was Sherman."

"So we're opposites," Kit replied. "So…yeah, I'd assume I'm supposed to be with Sherman, then, right?"

"Possibly. The odds are leaning towards that assumption," **Negative Kit** responded vaguely. "However, stranger things have happened."

"You don't seem like the others," Kit suddenly said. "They're evil, and yet, you're not."

"Kit, in your world, you're good. And you want to do good, but you're not afraid to beat the crap out of people if you deem it necessary," **Negative Kit** replied. "You, at first, willingly joined the BF5. You wanted to be a part of that group. I know it. You know it. We all know it."

"I see. Go on."

"I'm evil, don't think I'm not. But I didn't want to be a part of the BF5. And now…I do, so I assume now, you don't."

"Yeah, I'm not too big of a fan on being a part of the BF5," Kit responded.

"And if you want to, I won't want to. If you don't want to, I will want to, get it?" **Negative Kit** explained. "And me…well, I'm not as rude and crude as you are and not as mean as the rest of the negatives are."

"Makes sense."

"Now, don't tell anyone," **Negative Kit **said. The two shook hands, and the negative went back to her car and hopped in, cloaking it in the process.

"So…Sherman? Or Stanford?" Kit wondered out loud.

Speak of the devils, here they came. She sat on the hood of the Clockwork like nothing had happened. Stanford and Spinner rushed her and bombarded her with questions. Sherman appeared a few moments after his older brother, approaching the small group.

"You apparently got out of trouble on your own," Sherman said. "I saw another dot on the radar. And then it disappeared. Who was that?"

"Nobody. You must've picked something else up," Kit lied. She looked over at Stanford, who had quieted down, surprisingly enough. "Umm…long time no see…?"

"Long time no see? That's all you've got to say?" Stanford asked.

"I'm really at a loss for words right now."

"Obviously," he replied, emerald-green eyes looking hurt. He'd been expecting an apology of some sort, and then for her to say she wanted him back and then a movie scene where the couple kisses would ensue, or something along those lines, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. And Stanford wasn't about to apologize, even if he felt the slightest bit of remorse. Well, OK, about a year's worth of remorse, or what he'd call stealing the ice cream out of the fridge to take his mind away from the apologetic thoughts. He'd gone over it a hundred times in his head – what he'd say when and if he ever saw her again. But that was just fool's play because he'd never really apologize.

There was an awkward silence until Kit said, "I feel bad."

"Why?" Spinner asked.

"Because I didn't know what I wanted and I let it get in the way," Kit responded, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry Stanford, and I'm sorry, Spinner. But most of all, I'm sorry Sherman. I should've just left. That would've been much easier for everyone."

"Hey," Vert's voice came over the wrist-watch comlink of Sherman. "We've got the crystal. You know where to meet us, right? That is, if you've got Kit." He sounded annoyed so Kit just smirked, even though she was a little nervous. But she was definitely leaving for the second time. There was no way around it. Not after all this crap she'd put everyone through. For her own personal gain, all because she didn't want to get caught. Getting caught a year ago would've been a thousand times better than this. Agura, Zoom, and Vert already disliked her enough – after this, they'd definitely dislike her more. Not that it bothered her at all, it just made her feel a little guilty.

Sherman and Spinner went back to the Buster Tank. Spinner was oblivious to what Kit had meant, while Sherman knew and understood completely. Stanford paused and looked at Kit curiously before walking back to the Reverb, unsure of what she had meant. But the one thing he did know, he wasn't going to let her leave again. And he highly doubted that Sherman and Spinner would let her leave again. And once he was in the Reverb, he quietly admitted to himself and himself only that he didn't want Kit to leave. They were even. Pain had been exchanged on both ends; it was basically taking an eye for an eye without even realizing it until now.

And the four left the cave, silence engulfing them like a tsunami engulfs a small, seaside village and all its inhabitants.

* * *

I finally freaking updated! I was playing around on Power Point and I made a slide show of all my stories. I put a pic of Stanford and Sherman and Spinner on two different slides and just by looking at those pictures, my writer's block totally disintegrated and floated away on the wind!


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm rather surprised that I managed another update! Thanks for all of the awesome reviews, peoples! :D They've all been fantastic in helping me figure out the makings of this chapter! Also, I own nothing, except for Kit, Lucas, and Diesel! And another also, I do not own the lyrics or the song Swimming by Florence + the Machine! **

* * *

When the group was back in the base with Sage, Vert was pacing. He seemed to be pondering his next move, glancing up at Kit every so often. The brunette was sitting atop the Reverb with Diesel at her side. Stanford was leaning up against the purple car, hovering close to Kit. "Alright," the blonde leader finally said, shaking his head. He looked up at Sage. "Are you sure about this, Sage?" he asked, hesitating. The Sentient being nodded and explained what she had explained to Kit at the beginning of this whole crazy mess. Vert turned back to the brunette, who looked a little nervous.

"I can leave," she said quickly. "I wasn't even planning on sticking around."

"You were here for a year without us knowing," Agura pointedly stated. Kit just shrugged and slid off of the Reverb, followed by Diesel.

"Wait," Stanford said, taking Kit's wrist. She stopped and looked back at the red head. "I should probably mention that Lucas told me you were here last week."

"You knew?" Kit asked in shock. Stanford nodded, still keeping a firm grip on her wrist. Diesel growled slightly, but he was ignored by the majority of the BF5. "Well then why didn't you say anything?"

"Why should I have to explain myself to you? You're the one who's been lying this whole time, and you forced Sherman and Spinner to lie, too," Stanford retorted.

"It's your fault this crap happened in the first place," Kit shot back, forgetting that everyone else was still watching. "If you weren't so conceited and selfish maybe I wouldn't have lied!"

"Me? Conceited and selfish? I think you're the selfish one!"

"OK, guys, we don't need to point fingers," Sherman started, trying to break up the argument. But of course, he was ignored, because Kit and Stanford were both too stubborn to stop fighting.

"How am I selfish?"

"You led Sherman on, obviously," Stanford pointed out.

"What? No I didn't! I never said we were in a relationship! Sherman and I are friends! And I know why you're too blind to see that because you don't have any friends!" Kit replied, glaring at him.

"I have more friends than you do. Half of the team could care less whether or not you were on the team," the red head replied.

"Like I care!"

"Well if you don't care then why are you still here?" Stanford asked hotly, but he realized what he had said. "Wait, Kit, I didn't mean it!" But the brunette had already started for the Clockwork. "Don't leave, wait!"

"You know what Stanford?" Kit started as she climbed into her car. "I'll be damned if I let you talk to me that way. So if you want me to leave, that's exactly what I'll do." She dropped into the car and closed the top, peeling out of the base as fast the Clockwork would go.

"Nice going, Stanford!" Spinner mumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Like you did anything to help the situation," the red head snapped. "I'll be up at the diner if anyone needs me." When Stanford was gone, everyone else was standing in a stunned silence. They hadn't expected that to happen.

"You know," Sherman finally said, "I don't think she's coming back this time."

* * *

Kit pulled into the diner, clambered out of the car and went inside. Grace was mopping the floor when she looked up. The black haired waitress was shocked but she ran over and hugged the brunette. "Where have you been?" she asked, holding Kit at arm's length.

"I've been here the whole time," Kit replied vaguely. "For about a year, actually."

"What? How?" Grace asked, sitting her friend down at a booth so that they could talk. Kit explained the whole story, including everything up until that point in time. Grace played with the napkins for a moment before looking at her friend, who was waiting for something to be said in reply. "I don't know what to say to all that… Stanford has this weird way of going about showing his feelings."

"Feelings?" Kit snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Kit, I think this is all just anger on his part. For the past six months, Stanford hasn't tried to hit on me at all," Grace replied, patting the table. "It's been nice to be able to just focus on Vert instead of having to smack Stanford out of the way all the time."

"That doesn't mean anything," Kit replied stubbornly.

"You are seriously blind, aren't you? Don't you get it yet?"

"Get what?"

"Stanford is either bipolar-"

"He _is _bipolar."

"That's not my point!" Grace said in annoyance. "My point is, something hit him hard. And last week he started acting normal again, and I don't know why."

"Lucas," Kit said in reply, rolling her eyes. "He told Stanford that I was here – _last week_."

"That's what it was. He was acting that way because he wanted to make you jealous."

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Katczinsky!" Grace exclaimed, using Kit's full name. The brunette's blue eyes widened for just a moment before she glared at her black haired friend. "If I were to start flirting with Stanford, you would be jealous. In fact, I'm pretty sure you'd haul off and hit me."

"I would not!" Kit said defensively. Right on cue, the red head entered the diner, a look of annoyance on his face. He saw Grace first but then he spotted the brunette, who was frozen. Grace smirked down at her friend. "You wouldn't dare do it, Grace," Kit warned, but Grace walked right up to Stanford and started _flirting _with the red head, and she went as far as even giving him a quick kiss. And even Kit couldn't deny that she was as jealous as jealous could be, and she didn't realize she was up on her feet until she was halfway towards Stanford and Grace.

The black haired waitress skittered away, just giggling at Kit's fiery glare. The brunette was ashamed of her jealousy as she elbowed the red head out of the way. How could she let it show? Stanford was nothing to her, and that's all he'd ever be.

But of course, Kit doesn't get jealous over just anything.

* * *

That night Kit returned to base, only to find Sherman working on the Buster Tank, as always. His olive green eyes were full of surprise as he watched her park the Reverb. She hopped out, dressed in her regular hoodie and jeans. She paused as she looked at the younger Cortez thoughtfully. Their gazes locked and both were stuck, standing in that position. Kit was positive that none of this could be real – how could it be? There wasn't anyone as good as Sherman and there wasn't anyone as rude as Stanford, but obviously her mind spun whenever she was around either one of the two.

"Need any help?" she asked finally. She felt like she was trapped in a freaking _bubble _because her mind was swimming and her vision was clouded.

"I could use an extra pair of hands. Spinner ran off to test out one of his newest video games."

"Cool," Kit replied, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. The brunette was at his side a few moments later, holding something in place as Sherman fixed it. Now that she was already lost in her ocean-like world, she couldn't control her feelings as well. She couldn't keep the cap on the bottle, none of it made sense in her mind. It was all just a blurr as she stared at Sherman. How could someone be this sweet and that smart at the same time? Not to mention the muscles and the amazing olive green eyes, but – Kit caught herself and shook her head again.

What was wrong with her?

A song popped into her head, weaving its way around like a snake. So, to take her mind off of things, she started to sing, putting all of the band's practice to good use.

"_Your songs remind me of swimming,  
Which I forgot when I started to sink  
Drank further away from the shore,  
And deeper into the drink…_

"Sat on the bottom of the ocean,  
A stern and stubborn rock  
Cos your songs remind me of swimming,  
But somehow I forgot…

"_I was sinking, now I'm sunk  
And I was drinking, now I'm drunk  
I was sinking, now I'm sunk,  
And I was drinking, now I'm drunk…_

"I tried to remember the chorus,  
I can't remember the verse  
Cos that song that sent me swimming,  
Is now the life jacket that burst…

"Rotting like a wreck on the ocean floor,  
Sinking like a siren that can't swim no more  
Your songs remind me of swimming,  
But I can't swim any more…"

"What song is that?" Sherman asked, stopping what he was doing. "I haven't heard you sing that one before."

"Swimming," Kit replied, averting her eyes to the Buster Tank. "Fits my life so well right now."

Sherman just looked at her curiously.

* * *

Later that night, Kit was trudging down the hallway, heading for the couch in the main room. She was too exhausted to care where she slept – she could've slept in a broom closet, for all she cared. As she entered the main room, she passed by Stanford. Their fingers brushed as they tried to avoid each other, but sparks flew with just that one touch. Kit was left standing there like she had just been hit by lightning, dazed but alive, heart racing.

The red head stopped as well, and their eyes met. It was magnetism, neither party could tear their eyes away. Kit was confused as she felt her butterfly pulse against her wrist, as her mind spun out and crashed. She was mortified, at the same time. How could a feeling so great as this come from _Stanford_? He was a stuck-up, snotty little rich boy that bragged about his royal blood. This kind of feeling was only in fairy tales, so Kit tried to pretend that's all it was – an adorable little fairy tale.

Of course fairy tales are not real, and both the red head and the brunette understood this.

Finally, Stanford tore his gaze away and turned his back on Kit, hurrying down the hallway as if his life and well-being depended on it. So Kit did the same, tearing herself away from her spot. It was like pulling a piece of paper off of the wall – a piece of paper that had been glued down with extra-super-duty glue. She shook her head and tried to control her breathing as she headed for the couch, kicking off her shoes. She flopped down, still in her hoodie and jeans, falling asleep with a butterfly pulse and a foggy mind.

* * *

The next morning, Sherman placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her awake gently. She opened her dark blue eyes slowly, looking up at the olive green ones. Again, her mind started to swim, but she stood up anyway and followed him through the kitchen and out into the garage, where Spinner was working on the Buster Tank – or trying to work on it, anyways.

"Hold this," Sherman instructed, a soft patience in his voice. Kit nodded, still half-asleep, holding the piece that needed to be held. The younger Cortez brother started to fix it as Spinner played with Bigfoot, his goldfish.

"Jump through the hoop," the older Cortez brother prompted, but it wasn't working. And then everything came crashing down on Kit in one huge tidal wave. The feeling of _belonging _was incredibly mind-blowing. Just by being in the Cortez brothers' presence, she felt like she was back at home. It was like they had been doing this sort of thing their whole lives, when in all actuality they had only known each other for a little over a year.

And Kit averted her gaze and focused on the Buster Tank, but all she could hear was her blood pulsing through her veins and her heart beating out of control. It was like a dream – again, she couldn't believe that any of this was _real _and she was sure that she was dreaming. She pinched her arm and that's when she knew that she wasn't dreaming.

She hadn't realized that she was gripping the piece of metal this tight, until Sherman's warm fingers were carefully prying hers off of the metal. Her knuckles were white and she was surprised, but she was also too starry-eyed by the feeling she had now that Sherman had her hands in his. It was like fireworks had blown up and that's all she could see, it made her head swim even more than it already was, and feeling after feeling came rushing over her, bombarding her with emotions she never thought she'd ever feel.

"Kit," Sherman said, concerned. "You OK? You seem out of it."

"I'm…fine," the brunette replied, drawing her hands away from his and shoving them in her hoodie pocket. "I'm just out of it and tired."

* * *

Later that day, Kit walked around the kitchen table with Diesel behind her. She only looked up when another being entered the kitchen – it was none other than Stanford. They both stopped dead in their tracks, until the red head finally walked over to the fridge.

"I need your help," the British accented Reverb driver started, sounding slightly annoyed – which of course he was, more with himself than anything or anyone else.

"Uh…" Kit started, momentarily forgetting how to speak. Stanford's emerald green eyes did nothing to help the problem, as they locked gazes once again. "With what?" she finally managed.

"It's the Reverb."

"Alright, why you think I can help, I do not know…"

And when they finally reached the Reverb, Stanford pointed out the fact that the sound system was acting up and that he needed her to hold the speaker in place as he tried to fix it. She did so, and he got on his knees next to her, muttering a string of curses under his breath as he looked at it. "Try this," Kit said, remembering what she had seen Sherman do so many times before. She took one of his hands and placed it on the speaker, and he held it there as Kit took a socket wrench and leaned over his arms.

"That should do the trick," the brunette replied, looking at Stanford. But they both realized their faces were only inches apart, and that the gap could be closed at any given time. The red head leaned forward but Kit was already moving away, so he knocked his head against the Reverb's chassis. "I've…gotta go find and fix something…on the…Clockwork…" With that, Kit ran out of the room, leaving a confused and thunder-struck Stanford behind.

**

* * *

**

Review, because more reviews = more updates.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten, here it is! I hope it's satisfying and I hope the end is somewhat sad. Everything belongs to their rightful owners. **

* * *

Kit moved towards the couch that night, trying not to think about it all, but it obviously wasn't working. She tried to fall asleep, but that didn't work out so well. All she could really do was toss and turn, failing to find a comfortable spot on the old couch. She finally just gave up and looked at the ceiling, mind finally clearing up.

But of course, she heard footsteps and she closed her eyes, only trying to fool herself more than anything else. _I'm just dreaming, I'm already asleep. _But a shaky hand tapped her on wrist; instinctively she opened her blue eyes. In the dark she could barely see who it was, but when he spoke she knew. "Kit," he whined, his accent breaking slightly. And just by hearing his voice her mind was sent diving straight back into the water, but she swung her legs over the side of the couch and looked up at him. Obviously he couldn't see either, because he just stood there.

Which is when Kit realized something was wrong, so she said, "Is something wrong?" The red head paused before taking her by the hand and pulling her up off the couch and into his arms. And again it was like being struck by lightning – both were dazed but it didn't matter because they were already kissing and both were letting their emotions take control because neither had ever been held or kissed by anyone before, so it was a new feeling.

Finally they broke the kiss and the red head was running off back down the hallway, leaving the brunette with no company and an empty feeling.

* * *

In the morning, Kit decided that Stanford kissing her was only a dream, so she wearily headed to the kitchen. Of course it was still early and only Sherman was the only other one up. The brunette sat down at the table, a hard realization coming to her.

Even if Sherman wouldn't admit it – and even if Stanford blurted it out in front of everyone – she'd have to choose one or the other, and that made her feel guilty. If she'd stayed away, she wouldn't have to choose and nobody would get hurt, but she would've come back anyway, whether or not Sage wanted her to.

And the only hard part for her was that she already knew which one she was going to pick, it was just she didn't know how to go about breaking a boy's heart – she'd never done that before. But how could she be sure she was making the right decision? They say you know, when you know, but she didn't know anything anymore. And then, only a part of her knew, the other half was still waiting in the darkness for an answer.

"Kit," Sherman started, looking over at her.

"What? Oh, sorry," she replied.

"Don't apologize if you didn't do anything wrong."

"Sorry – I mean, alright." The brunette grinned, but there was no heart behind it. Sherman rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, having to get on his knees just to be at her level. And again she was thunder-struck, just looking back into those olive green eyes. Sherman could say so much without even saying anything at all, and the empty feeling disappeared. It was a feeling she'd forgotten about, the feeling that someone actually cared about her. She used to cry whenever she felt like someone cared, but now she didn't see the need to cry. Sherman stood up and ruffled her hair before walking out of the kitchen, and Kit was empty again, the feeling of belonging barely lingering.

_Don't apologize if you didn't do anything wrong. _

But Kit felt like she had screwed a lot of different things up, and part of her was sorry.

* * *

The red head didn't know what Kit wanted, but he didn't care. He entered the diner where Grace practically pushed him into the booth. The brunette across from him waited for the black haired waitress to leave, and when she finally did, she looked at Stanford with a thoughtful expression. It was hard to figure out which one was sincere and which one wasn't.

Stanford waited impatiently, emerald green eyes moving to the floor. "What do you want from me?" His eyes snapped back up to meet Kit's dark blue ones after she asked that question. What in the world did she mean by _that_? "I don't get it. First you hate me and then you care so much as to come looking for me in the middle of the night, only to leave me confused because I don't know what anybody wants from me anymore."

"I want you to pick me over Sherman."

"So that's it? That's all you want."

"Basically."

"Well then what am I supposed to do after that? If I picked you, you'd just leave me about a week later when you got bored with bragging about "winning," right?"

"No."

"I highly doubt that."

"I'm serious!"

"Then why don't I believe you…?"

"Because I've done some stupid things…"

"That's not a – wait, what?"

"Don't make me spell it out," the red head snapped. "I made a mistake last year and I've had to live with myself. I don't know why I didn't help you – it was a pride thing, I suppose. But afterward, I realized just how worried I had been that I might never see you again." Kit was lost again, swimming in an endless ocean that she had no way of getting out of on her own. "You look lost."

"I am lost," the brunette replied, rubbing her left temple with her index finger. Stanford stood up and took her by the hand again, pulling her into his arms. This time he just held her there, resting his chin on the top of her head.

* * *

Kit was sitting on the couch in the dark – again – and she was digging through her bag, trying to find something that had been eluding her all day. The locket that her father had given her was gone. She dropped it on the floor next to the couch and pushed the covers away, getting up. The last place she had seen it had been...well she couldn't remember.

Diesel barked, so Kit turned towards the hollow sound. She quirked an eyebrow and then dove for the dog, which had the locket in his mouth. "Diesel!" she scolded, following the dog down the hallway. When he finally stopped and sat down, she took the locket away from him, and making sure it was OK, she turned to head back to the main room.

"Kit?"

She turned around and flicked Diesel on the muzzle as she realized she had been led right into the Cortez brothers' room. "Sorry," she said quickly, looking back up at Sherman, "but Diesel took something and I had to get it back, obviously."

"You don't have to apologize y'know."

"Right, sor – I mean, right." Kit nodded and turned to walk away, but Diesel barked again and she sighed.

"Are you mad at me?" Sherman questioned.

"No, of course not," Kit replied, turning around and looking back at him in surprise. "Where would you get an idea such as that?"

"I dunno, you just haven't talked to me in a while."

Kit walked over and sat down on the bed next to Sherman, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She smiled slightly, half-heartedly, and closed her eyes. The younger Cortez brother sighed and entwined his fingers with hers. "You're too good to me," she murmured, burying her face in his shoulder.

"What d'you mean?"

"I've been acting like a selfish jerk," she replied with a sigh, glancing up at him. "And I'm sorry."

"I'm not asking you to pick between me and Stanford."

"I never said you were and see, that's what I mean," she replied softly.

"And he shouldn't force you to pick, either," Sherman added.

"Thank God…"

* * *

For Kit, it was like being drugged up on Dramamine; there was really no way to get past that feeling. She couldn't be left alone with herself, or else her thoughts would get to her. The question kept calling from the back of her mind and when it surfaced, she couldn't get it to leave her alone; it was like being _haunted_. She tried endlessly to convince herself that the question just _wasn't there_, but it was, and it scared her a little bit.

Being attached to one person was hard for her – being attached to two people was worse. She couldn't decide. And for a moment, just a moment, she contemplated the thought of leaving. It would be easier for everyone that way, wouldn't it? Maybe not for herself, but she'd acted selfish enough already. Sherman was strong and he'd forget and move on, while Stanford…well Stanford would probably just forget about a week later.

"What am I missing?" Stanford asked. Kit looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow.

"And I should know what you're talking about because…?"

The red head gestured to his body – he was neatly dressed in black pants and a purple button down shirt. "I'm bloody _perfection_, and you're still debating."

For some reason, she chuckled, shaking her head. "It's not all about looks."

"It's not?"

Kit looked up at him. Was he serious? And those emerald green eyes of his looked genuinely confused and bewildered at the statement _it's not all about looks_. "It's not," she responded decisively. And she laughed to herself because she should have _known _that Stanford wouldn't understand. This was Stanford Isaac Rhodes IV, 189th in line for the throne. Of course he thought looks were everything. That's all he'd ever based things on.

"If looks aren't everything, then…then…aww…" Stanford scratched the top of his head thoughtfully.

"If looks aren't everything, why'd you pick me?"

"What?"

"I'm average," Kit replied, shrugging. "I wear baggy pants and hoodies that are three sizes too big. I wear my hair down and it's frizzy half the time, not that I care. And you're a piece of work; you dress like the big-shot you think you are."

"Hey, I should take that offensively."

And the brunette found herself chuckling again, because she knew he'd never change. Not that she wanted him to, but he didn't understand what love was, obviously. At least, he didn't show that he knew what it was.

"You're not terribly ugly," Stanford replied. "Well, you're not ugly, but you're not beautiful, either."

"And if I looked worse? Would you still care?"

There was a long pause.

"Probably not. Unless I knew you like I know you now."

"_**IF **_I was "terribly ugly" if you will, would you want to be seen with me in public, regardless of what other people would say?"

"Honestly? No."

"Even if we were meant to be together."

"Again, honestly? No."

Kit blinked and looked at the floor. This could just be Stanford, because Stanford didn't understand that looks weren't everything. But then again, this could be some seed of truth. "What I look like now – would you want to be seen with me in front of your…uh, royal family?" The red head paused and looked the other way before giving his answer.

"Really? If we're being _honest_ here, no."

Which Kit had figured he'd say no, but she had been _hoping _he'd say yes. She looked down at the floor again, angry and disappointed. It wasn't just about looks, she thought to herself. But maybe for some people – like Stanford – it was.

And she just wasn't stunning like he believed he was.

**

* * *

**

Review! Reviews = quicker updates!


End file.
